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THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 



THE TRAIL OF THE 
LOST ELECTRIC 



BY 

FLORENCE SPAULDING PIKE 



THE ALLEN PUBLISHING COMPANY 

JACKSON. MICHIGAN 



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COPYRIGHT 1914 

By FLORENCE SPAULDING PIKE 



THE ALLEN PUBLISHING CO 

JACKSON. MICHIGAN 

1914 

JUN-6I9I4 

'^' CL A 8 7 4 .3 (> 



TO 

SADIE TRANK HINKLEY 

THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE HAPPILY INSCRIBED 



PREFACE. 

THERE is little to be said by way of explana- 
tion. The experience herein narrated was a 
hard one to these pilgrims of the night, holding 
no shade of humor or drollery until seen in 
retrospect in company with others who appeared to 
extract a fund of amusement from it at our expense. 
If anything may sound fourth demensional to the 
reader, we can only say it was very clear to us. Life 
has many illusions, even to the materialistic, and we 
are told that things are not what they seem. But at 
the seaside, alone, far from habitation, with mid- 
night, flood tide and a full moon, it is not necessary 
to turn on very many imagination stops. 

For light on the nebular hypothesis, and the evo- 
lution of worlds, thanks are due to Prof. Irving. 
So, this account of an unusual adventure goes 
forth, with the assurance of welcome by a few 
friends — the surplus copies can weather the blast 
outside that circle. It will never hurt us — we lived 
through the adventure. 

F. S. P. 



CONTENTS 



Preface 

Chapter Page 

I. The Pilot's Mistake 9 

II. The Tides and the Shadows 15 

III. Stars of the Midnight Sky "29 

IV. Stars of the Midnight Sky (continued) .... 37 

V. Mars 49 

VI. Terra 57 

VII. A Test of Physical Calibre 61 

VIII. Ahasuarus, the Shoemaker of Jerusalem .... 65 

IX. The Song of the Morning Stars 77 

X. Karma, the Law of Cause and Effect 83 

L'Envoy 87 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 



The Trail of the Lost Electric 



Chapter I. 



THE PILOT'S MISTAKE. 

"The best laid schemes o' mice and men, 
Gang oft agley!" 

IN the Lord's good year one thousand nine hundred 
and eight, two women came out from the sweet 
scented orange groves, under the shadow of the 
mountain fastnesses of the coast country of the 
Golden Gate, at the time of the festival of Roses 
which is nigh unto the holy Christmas-tide, going 
unto the City of the Angels to view the great car- 
avans. And they abode within the House of Enter- 
tainment. One had been there before, so was pilot 
and guide and the same was Martha, of the House of 
Samson, and who dwelt within this land. The other 
was a Stranger within the gates, the guest of Martha, 
who dwelt in the east country beyond the big prair- 
ies, in the land of the great lakes, the home of the 
Ojibways and the Chippewas, which same were red 
men and were hunters and fishers. But these tribes 
had been discovered and overcome by a race of white 
men, mighty upon the land, and known unto all peo- 



10 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

pie as Wolverines; and after much argument and 
agitation, this white race became possessed of the 
lands; the same were makers of automobiles. And 
the Stranger was of this tribe. 

And within the gates of the City of Our Lady of 
the Angels, the two rested for the space of a day, 
then journeyed unto a neighboring city, where yearly 
is held a great festival of Koses; and they marveled 
much at the allegorical presentations and wondrous 
display of flowers. 

And when these had passed, and the day was 
done, then did they come again unto the City of the 
Angels, and abode therein, that they might behold 
other wondrous things which are round about, mar- 
velous and many, and the pilot, even Martha, was to 
lead the way. 

And it came to pass that one beautiful Sabbath 
day, early in the morning, they departed out from 
the House of Entertainment, saying to the people 
thereof : 

."We go this day and hour to worship, unto the 
Church of the Angels, much of which is written 
throughout the land." 

And as they came upon the highway they beheld 
the multitude which went not in the direction of the 
church, but unto the beaches by the sea; for the 
breezes were soft, and the call of the water was loud 
unto their ears. 

So they spake quietly, one unto the other, saying : 

''Behold the multitude which goeth forth after 
pleasure; why not we? We can come unto the Church 
of the Angels another day when the sun shineth not 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 11 

so brightl}', and breezes blow not so gently, when 
perchance, rain may descend upon the land and we 
care not to go unto the water; let us this day and 
hour depart to the water's edge — even to the Place 
of Moonstones, which is in by the sea, that we may 
seek treasure, which abideth upon the sands;" and 
so they turned into the broad and pleasant pathway 
which leadeth always unto pleasure. 

In those days two electric lines carried the multi- 
tudes to and from the city. In the great City of 
Angels was an intricate network of lines — fearful 
and wonderful, but well known to the one who had 
been there before, as were likwise the others which 
lead unto the water. And the pilot and guide had 
never made a mistake. 

So they sought the mart of a money changer, and 
gave unto him many pieces of silver, and he rendered 
back to them slips of cardboard, the same being 
written over with symbols and hieroglyphics, one 
like unto a circle, which deciphered, signifieth 
"round trip," and they hied them forth to the 
Place of Moonstones, which is in that country called 
Redondo. 

And much people were upon the shores assembled, 
searching for treasure, and the two did likewise, for 
pebbles and stones of beauteous hues were spread 
bounteously under their feet. 

Long they lingered, and the round red orb which 
in all lands maketh daytime, dipped low into the 
horizon waters, and night was upon the land when 
they gathered up the treasure that had rewarded 
their search, moonstones, pastel stones, flower stones. 



12 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

milkstones, bloodstones, opals, sardonyx, jasper, 
jade, moss agate, serpentine, fossil, starfish, kelp, 
bivalves, curious pieces of driftwood and some more 
things, and made ready to depart. 

The Stranger, even the Wolverine, asked that 
they might remain and behold the tide come in; in 
the east country, beyond the big prairies, even in the 
land of the great lakes, wierd, uncanny tales were 
brought yearly by travelers out of the wonderful 
coast country of the Golden Gate concerning the 
tides of the great ocean, so much curiosity possessed 
the Stranger. But the pilot said : 

"We are exceeding weary with much tramping, 
we are hungry and cold; let us in this hour seek the 
House of Entertainment within the gates of the City 
of Angels, that we may refresh ourselves ; and some 
distant day, when the round, red orb. which in all 
lands maketh daytime, dippeth low into the mighty 
waters, and twilight is upon the land, we will re- 
turn again unto this place, and then behold the tides 
of the great ocean rise and fall upon the shore." 

And the Stranger abode by the wisdom of the 
pilot. 

And beholding two cars standing, one against the 
other, they ascended up into the one which stood 
over against the sea, and sped away, and away, and 
away — toward the City of Angels, toward the House 
of Entertainment, toward bread and butter and jam. 
toward the place of slumber — for they had indeed 
traveled far, and were weary and heavy laden, carry- 
ing much treasure. 

The multitude within the car was great, and they 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 13 

took seats where they could — which place was at the 
rear end. The man who took the toll moved slowly. 
When at last he reached them, and gathered to him- 
self the slips of cardboard out of their hands, the 
same which were written over with symbols and 
hieroglyphics, and with a circle, which deciphered 
meaneth "round trip," he at once returned the same 
unto them, and with soft voice spake he thus : 

"Not good on this line ; depart ye hence from off 
this car, and tarry twenty minutes by the track, 
when lo, out of the darkness will come forth another 
car, the same to which belongeth these cardboards; 
or, pay ye unto me more pieces of silver, each to the 
number of thirty and five and abide within to the 
end of the journey, which same is unto the City of 
Angels." 

And the two were sore vexed. Then arose Mar- 
tha, of the House of Samson, pilot and guide, and 
spake thus : 

"Not so ; for be it known unto all people that we 
have our cardboards, even the same which are writ- 
ten over with symbols and hieroglyphics, and with a 
circle, which deciphered meaneth "round trip," and 
we will pay no more pieces of silver unto this syndi- 
cate to bring us to the City of the Angels, for. wist 
ye not that this silver, even the thirty and five pieces 
each, will buy for us many sticks of fragrant gum, 
and many a ticket into the picture shows which are 
abroad upon the land? so let us cleave unto our sil- 
ver, depart from the multitude which goeth this way, 
and tarry upon these sands for twenty minutes, then 



14 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

shall we ascend unto our own, which same always 
cometh to him who waits." 

And thus it happened : that the trolley man lifted 
them into the sands of that seashore known unto all 
men as Pacific coast, five miles from the Place of 
Moonstones, and then, with his car, dissolved into 
the landscape. 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 15 



Chapter II. 



THE TIDES AND THE SHADOWS. 

"And over all there hung a shade of fear; 

A sense of mystery the spirit daunted, 
And said as plain as whisper in the ear, 

'The place is haunted!' " 



THUS were they alone — alone by a fathomless 
ocean, under the perpendicular glare of a full 
southern moon, no living creature in sight, a 
stretch of barren sand on one side, the bound- 
less expanse of water upon the other; alone at the 
edge of the world; and they saw naught but the 
silent sands, and heard no sound but the eternal 
splash of the breakers; and the full moon glared 
down upon them, making their shadows weird. 

They drew nigh unto one another, speaking in 
whispers. 

The moments dragged by; they longed for the 
coming of a headlight in the distance, for what 
might not be in this lonely spot — surely, what not? 

There might be pirates, there might be water- 
sprites, or mermaids, or mermen, or naiades, or 
sylphs, or undines, or gnomes, or salamanders, or 
amphibians or sharks, or whales, or sea horses, or 
lobsters, or lizards, or watersnakes, or devilfish, each 
with eight long crooked arms, or there might be sea 



16 THE TRAIL. OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

monsters, or sea serpents, or sea urchins, or wicked 
kelpies, or horrid yellow dragons, lost from the 
waters that wash the shores of far off Cathay — Oh ! 

Now all these things were well known from child- 
hood unto the Stranger from the east country, be- 
yond the big prairies in the land of the great lakes, 
where they are brought yearly by travelers out from 
the coast country of the Golden Gate, and told about 
in hushed voices. And the Stranger in this hour 
likewise told them unto the pilot. 

But the pilot, even Martha, who had been there 
before, answered, saying: 

"Pooh!" — but looked searchingly around, and 
started at sudden noises. 

Still they waited, twenty minutes, forty min- 
utes, sixty minutes — and no car hove in sight. And 
in the moonlight their shadows began to grow weird 
and more weird, the loneliness became uncanny, the 
splashing of the breakers upon the shore became a 
sound of terror; they heard voices calling — calling, 
out of the deep; and the spray of the salt sea surf 
rose and fell like spectral forms, waving long arms 
toward them, then sinking forever out of sight in the 
watery bed. And then came more and more and as 
they watched and waited, far out upon the mighty 
waters other shapes appeared, and they saw them 
multiply into thousands and tens of thousands, 
dancing, shrieking, throwing themselves wildly, and 
coming, sur6ly coming toward them upon the tide! 
and the spectral form of old Neptune was in the 
lead, clad in spray and mist and foam, and he, and 
all furiously beckoned to them to come! withal, 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 17 

dancing nearer and nearer, and closer and closer, 
and as the two had fled bej'ond their grasp, still they 
dug their long fingers into the sands in a last en- 
deavor to creep further and gather in the spoil. Then 
the mighty tide, and old Neptune, and all the shapes 
were gathered up and swept back, and back, and 
back — and they watched them out of sight, and heard 
the last shriek die away in the distance, for they 
were gone — far out of sight, and the sands where 
the waters had been were bare, and appeared not 
even wet! 

Then were they sore afraid, and strained their 
eyes toward the Place of Moonstones to see if a 
light appeared in the darkness, even of a trolley, and 
they beheld no light. 

Then spake they one unto the other, saying: 
"Surely, this dreadful Neptune and his band have 
now gone to the other side of the world, and will be 
seen by us no more forever." But even as they spoke, 
the tide gathering force, came rushing in again, and 
on, and on, and on it came, frothing, and surging, 
and foaming, and roaring, creeping closer and closer, 
and upon its breast, shrieking and waving and beck- 
oning, came again the people of the deep, hurling 
themselves a little further upon the sands in wild 
endeavor to reach the two and drag them on their 
backward sweep — out. and out and out, into the 
blackness, into the darkness, into that mighty water 
called Pacific! and the horror of it all was upon 
them, and they clung one unto the other, and crept 
further away. Then the tide and all its people were 
gone again, out, and out and out — and the sands 



18 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

where the waters had been were bare, and appeared 
not even wet ! but now they knew it had gone unto the 
other edge of the world only for strength and fury 
to make another rush ; and each time it crept a little 
closer, and a little closer, while the great Lord of 
Luna, even the man in the moon, who for all time 
hath hypnotized the tides and held them in the 
hollow of his land, leered wickedly down upon the 
scene. 

Then held they counsel, and in terror said, one 
unto the other: 

"We cannot pose like statues upon these Pacific 
sands forever and forever, beholding these frightful 
shapes which come in with the tide and go out with 
the tide, and swing their horrid arms, and crook 
their spectral fingers, and shriek their wicked 
shrieks, and throw the salt sea spray which doth 
drench our raiment; let us depart once again to- 
ward the Place of Moonstones from whence we came, 
and discover our car in its own habitation, and find 
the cause of this delay and mystery." 

So they, from the sweet scented orange groves, 
under the shadow of the mountain fastnesses of the 
coast country of the Golden Gate turned about to- 
ward the Place of Moonstones, which is Redondo; 
and they looked not again unto the tides, likewise 
deafening their ears unto the roaring of the mighty 
waters ; but the spray and the mist was heavy upon 
the air, and the same w^rapped them fast, making 
brine upon their lips, with saline inhalation, while a 
saturated solution interpenetrated their vesture ; and 
a sticky crust of salt began to cover their flesh, 



THE TRAIL OP THE LOST ELECTRIC 19 

bringing to them visions of a famous woman of his- 
tory — even Lot's wife; and fearful, they looked not 
behind them. 

And it came to pass as they journeyed on they 
beheld a dark object lying upon the sands over 
against the track to the left, opposite the sea; and 
the same appeared to be of three dimensions. Then 
were they sore afraid so went not nigh unto it, but 
held counsel, reasoning thus : 

''We are come upon a mysterious object, and we 
wist not what it be; the dreadful sea is upon our 
right and the object is upon our left; the Place of 
Moonstones whither we go is ahead. We must pass 
one of two ways, nigh unto this object, or over 
against the sea from which we are fled in terror. If 
we do not one of these then must we pose within our 
tracks in these Pacific sands until the coming of the 
dawn, when cars may pass this way; we are 
drenched with brine, and are cold and shivering, and 
have this day and hour seen weird sights ; the wicked 
Lord of Luna followeth us with his eye, and nauras- 
thenia is in our wake; so, the things we seem to see 
perchance we do not see at all. Let us prove out, 
and draw nigh unto this which we believe we see, 
that we may learn wisdom and understanding." So, 
straightway, they went unto the object, and when 
they were near, the pilot, quaking, touched it with 
her foot ; then was their interest upon it intent. For 
the object moved not, but gave forth a sound like 
unto pine wood which is hewn into boards, and fash- 
ioned into hollow shape. Then the courage of the 
two grew apace, and they came close unto it, and 



20 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

the pilot, which was Martha, boldly lifted it upon its 
side. 

Then was all fear departed out from them, and 
they marveled much, for the object, which same is 
known unto all men as a box, built of pine wood, and 
of three dimensions, was written over at the ends 
thereof with symbols and hieroglphics. even in Anglo- 
Saxon, which same being deciphered, read : 

"QUEEN ANNE SOAP/^ 

And for a brief space of time they were speechless 
with surprise ; but the Stranger from the east coun- 
try was exceeding rejoiced, because her own people, 
even the Wolverines, who are unto all nations makers 
of automobiles, are likewise makers of this royal ar- 
ticle, which Cometh out of the City of the Straits, in 
the Wolverine country, even in boxes of three dimen- 
sions, counterparts unto the one which was now upon 
the sands before them in the coast country of the 
Golden Gate at the edge of the world! and the 
Stranger drew reverently nigh unto the box, ad- 
dressing it in the language of the red men of the 
Wolverine country, even of the Ojibways and the 
Chippewas, and unto this day the two bear witness 
that the object, even the box, radiated glints of joy 
in the moonlight. Art incredulous, friend o' mine? 
Put the same behind thee forever! There is an in- 
telligence and a memory to everything which is made 
up of molecules, no matter how it may have been 
cut and slashed, or into what form or feature it may 
have been fashioned by nature, earthquakes, ship- 
wrecks, explosions, planing mills, cart wheels, or by 
the hand of man. Wist thee not that metals re- 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 21 

member their past states? Every atom, molecule and 
electron in the universe is alive, very much alive, 
and its intelligence and memory befit its environ- 
ment. And they straightway made out of the box a 
chair, and seated themselves thereon, and they placed 
it upon the sands in position that they might not 
behold the countenance of the Lord of Luna, and 
their backs were turned unto him. 

And they spake, one unto the other, saying : 
"Whence cometh this good fortune in an impos- 
sible place, in our hour of need?" and the Stranger 
added, "surely, whence cometh into my very path- 
way, a visitor out of my own country and my own 
house?" but the winds and the waves gave back no 
response, and it remaineth a mystery forever. 

And the Lord of Luna glared down upon them, 
casting over them a wicked influence, which mani- 
fested before their eyes in grotesque and fantastic 
shadows, and the same lay black upon the sands be- 
fore them. And it came to pass as they looked 
thereon they saw a pair of frightful silhouettes, with 
hair fallen out of plumb, hanging in many wisps 
from beneath crooked, dislodged and spray be- 
decked hats; ostrich plumes which in the morning 
had been flufl'y and light for church, were now but 
strings, dripping and soaked, bearing likeness unto 
the tails of barnyard fowls in heavy rain. So, heart- 
sick, they turned away from the shadows which lay 
black upon the sands and talked in low voices of the 
evil ways of him who dwelleth upon the front side of 
the world's satellite, even the moon, who exhibited in 
that forsaken spot these two shadows, differing one 



22 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

from auother only in villainous appearance; and 
they knew that since time was, he hath possessed the 
power to hypnotize the tides and some people, and 
they were much concerned about their safety, so 
forthwith made a circle with the thumb and fore- 
finger of each hand, which is known unto all men as 
a safeguard and protection from this fell influence. 
And they looked not again to the distorted shadows 
upon the sands. 

A long silence and gloom was at last broken by 
Martha, who spake thus : 

"Wist thee, oh Stranger from the Wolverine 
country, that this same moon which shineth in this 
lonely hour and maketh wicked shadows unto us, 
hath verily seen troubles of his own in time gone by? 
yes; and wist thee what is the story of his birth? no? 
then listen : for know now, that he is the child by 
fission parentage of our earth and the sun. In 
aeons past when earth was still in a soft and plastic 
stage, the strong tidal action of the sun caused a 
great hump to raise up on one side, so our earth be- 
came the shape of a huge pear. The steady pull of 
this tidal force finally wrenched the piece off, when 
it fled out into space, in quest of a gravitational 
orbit of its own, carrying with it its portion of what- 
soever of water and atmosphere and life germs its 
mother earth may have possessed at the time. It set 
to spinning, like a dancing Dervish, around its own 
center of attraction (which attraction, owing to its 
small size, was very slight ; so slight that it could not 
keep its atmosphere and water, and they soon drifted 
off into space). The life germs, if any there were. 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 23 

either dried up, or flew away to join the innumerable 
train of cosmical dust with which the heavens are 
strewn. This probably happened before it got back 
where it belonged, for it has not always been travel- 
ing in the track it now is in. The momentum with 
which it rushed away from earth, carried it out be- 
yond its proper limit, and it went tumbling head- 
long into the track of the asteroids. Indignation was 
rife; a counsel of Pocket Planets was instantly 
called, and after a brief session the decision was that 
there was plenty of room out in space for any 
heavenly body without his infringement on the rights 
and territory of other heavenly bodies; a general 
hold up followed, and the nervy stranger from 
nobody knew where, was ordered out of 
town. He did not propose to go, and for 
a time held his ground; but what he suffered at 
the hands of the Six Hundred, before he finally got 
out of their track, had best remain untold. Suffice to 
say he was bumped and battered and knocked about 
by constant collision with them, His Majesty, even 
Eros, opera bouffe king, frequently going out of his 
way to give him a punch ; and just as long as his 
father, the sun, supplies him with light, just so long 
will he exhibit the scars of these battles upon his 
face; for, all those spots and hollows which we can 
see so plainly, and which some people call extinct 
volcanic craters, are not craters at all, but scars — 
bona fide scars, made by the punchings he got for 
being where he had no business to be. So, one day, a 
heavy charge from the ranks of the Six Hundred, 
plus his own resilicence, sent him rolling back along 



24 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

the magnetic path by which he came a homesick, un- 
happy scion, who firmly believed there was no place 
in the sky for a moon. But he never reached the land 
of his birth; when within 240,000 miles of home and 
mother, he was again held up, this time by that mys- 
terious force which Newton tells us about but does 
not attempt to explain, and there he is, buzzing 
around us in an orbit of his own, with the same 
pale cheek always turned earthward, his days two 
weeks long, and were it not for the light sent him 
from his father's house, he would hang there, a use- 
less black hulk, which we probably could not see at 
all. Now. all this happened a thousand million years 
ago, so say the geologists. Oh, yes, the moon hath 
had troubles of his ov/n !" 

The Stranger drew closer unto Martha, sliding an 
arm within the arm of the pilot, conscious, erst- 
while, of the beating down of heavy beams of re- 
flected light from the haunt of the Lord of Luna in 
the sky. Then deep silence reigned for many min- 
utes, broken again by Martha, who spake, saying : 

"But after all, the moon hath retained power and 
magnetic balance, of which the half hath never been 
told." And the Stranger in her heart of hearts hoped 
and prayed that it might not be told in this hour and 
in this place. 

But the pilot, garrulous, continued: 

"Didst know that cucumbers, turnips and rad- 
ishes increase at full moon, and onions thrive best 
when the moon hath passed its full? that corn will 
all grow nubbins, and bean pods will not fill if the 
seed has not been planted at the proper phase? that 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 25 

vines trimmed at night when the moon is in the sign 
of Leo, are safe from field mice and other pests? 
That weeds cut in August in the old of the moon will 
never sprout again? that turkey eggs set in nests 
upon the ground to hatch in a growing moon will 
produce young turks which cannot die before late 
November ; neither will weasel or hawk attack them ; 
and pork butchered during a waning moon will all 
go into gravy in the skillet? that soft soap boiled 
in the orchard at crescent moon will eat the finger 
nails of all who dip into it? that carpet rags sewn in 
the dark of the moon of an afternoon, will bring 
upon the sewer attacks from the tongues of gossips? 
that when the red man cannot hang his powder 
flask upon the digit of the moon because of its per- 
pendicular tilt, much rain will descend upon the 
land? but when it floats in the sky, horns up, like a 
butter bowl, drouth and dust will possess our earth? 
and didst know that babies weaned in the waning 
moon of May will develop a restless disposition, be- 
come tramps and depart for foreign lands? that 
babies weaned in the crescent moon of June will fall 
heir to much silver? and, wist thee, that the moon 
always maketh one eye a little larger than the other 
of all born within his influence? yes; and hath 
power to produce blindness by shining upon sleepers' 
eyes? that Napoleon Bonaparte ever ordered his sol- 
diers to cover their heads when sleeping in the open, 
under the glare of a full moon, lest they become luna- 
tics? and wist the oh, Stranger, that shingles on 
houses will curl up villainously if not laid when the 
sign is right? that the pulling of mandrakes at the 



26 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

eclipse of the moon insures one from being haunted 
by ghosts and goblins? wist thee, that the Aurora 
Borealis avoids the moon, and flees to a place of in- 
visibility when the moon shineth upon the icy north? 
that when the moon is so young that it resembles a 
slice of finger nail, if seen over the right shoulder, 
brings good luck in business for thirty days, and if 
seen over the left shoulder, vice versa? That if, on 
the morning of the first day of the new year, the 
pancake griddle sings over the fire after the manner 
of a teakettle, there will come 'ere the dawn of 
another new year, great, unexpected wealth unto all 
who hear it, yes? And did'st know also that the left 
hind foot of a rabbit shot in a graveyard at full 
moon, will bring much wealth into the purse of him 
who carries it? And didst know that the wicked 
man in the moon gathers fagots during the Sabbath 
rest? and in the chant of the starry choir the moon 
sings tenor? and wist thee that there is also a woman 
in the moon " 

The Stranger, shaking with terror like unto an 
aspen leaf, drew closer unto the pilot, saying in 
husky whisper: 

''Disclose unto me. oh pilot, no more of the 
moon's accomplishments in this hour; my bones do 
rattle and shake and great fear is upon me. The 
wicked Lord of Luna hath power to hypnotize the 
tides and the shadows, and some people. Let us 
think upon the same no more forever, lest we forget 
our circle with the thumb and finger, come under his 
baleful influence, and mayhap, with uneven eyes, go 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRCI 27 

shrieking forth upon the waters of this great Pacific 
to join old Neptune and his band." 

And Martha, waxing thoughtful, answered, 
saying : 

"Even so !" 

Then with furtive glances to the right and to the 
left and behind them, they heaved heavy sighs and 
lapsed again into silence, and the night gave forth no 
sound, save of the constant, lonesome lapping of the 
unresting waves upon the sands of that mighty, 
tumbling water called Pacific. 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 29 

Chapter III. 
STARS OF THE MIDNIGHT SKY. 



"Oh deep, whose very silence stuns, 
Where light is powerless to illume: 
Lost in immensities of gloom 

That dwarf to motes the flaring suns!" 



LONG they sat in silence upon the royal chair, 
looking not upon the sands, neither upon the 
waters, nor upon the face of the earth's com- 
panion in space, but lifting up their eyes unto 
the twinkling stars, and with astral vision beholding 
the beauty thereof, and marveling at the mighty 
law which holdeth each in its own place, hanging 
upon nothing, even out and beyond the confines of 
human ken, into the infinity of space, and still 
beyond. 

And they turned unto the great milky way, with 
its hundreds of millions of suns, which writeth upon 
the scroll of the heavens a wonderful story of the 
Cosmos, and its everlasting glory. And away in the 
northern sky, under the handle of the great dipper, 
they saw the yellow Arcturus, even the runaway sun, 
bowling through space at the headlong speed of two 
hundred miles per second, and since the time of 
Ptolemy, hath to human eye appeared to have moved 



30 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

but twice the distance of the moon's disc. Arcturus : 
the hottest star in the universe so far as human ken 
may compute, and in a tie with the mighty Canopus 
the largest bodj' also. Arcturus : who shed his beams 
upon the patient and afflicted Job, in the land of Uz, 
and is mentioned by him in holy writ. 

Then they turned to admire the lovely Pleiades, 
whose rising telleth the time of safe navigation, as 
their first cousins, the rainy Hyades rise to bring 
storms and tempests both to land and sea. And they 
talked of the spiritual beauty of the mother, Pleione, 
whose light is dimmed by the veil of cosmical mist 
with which she covered her face when Electra, one 
of her seven daughters, brought scandal to the home 
by an elopement; and they lamented that Canopus, 
star of Mohammed, is not visible in this parallel of 
latitude, for romance centers about the brilliant and 
fascinating Canopus, gay Lothario of the skies, for 
he it is who is credited with having stolen away the 
lovely Electra from among her beautiful sisters; but 
the lost Pleiad, who was one of seven, has never 
been seen elsewhere since disappearing from the fam- 
ily circle, and what her fate was no one knows; for 
Canopus, who might tell, keeps his distance in a 
southern sky, over the bend of the earth, and guards 
the secret well. His orange colored companion, (for 
he is a double star), the wife he deserted for Electra, 
now gives him neither leave nor license, yet holds him 
in an iron grip from which he cannot escape. He'll 
not go wrong again. And the unearthly beauty of 
the eldest sister of the seven, Maia. held their ad- 
miration ; Maia, flower of the family, pearl of great 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 31 

price, beautiful beyond description, with her starry 
eyes and wealth of pale gold hair, clad always in the 
same pale pink gown and star dust veil. 

And they admired the wonderful beauty of the 
great Aldebaran, which sitteth within the eye of 
Taurus, even above Casseopeia's chair, and the bril- 
liant Orion, which holdeth the rose colored Betel- 
geuse upon the right shoulder, and the amazon 
Bellatrix upon the left, with blue Rigel upon the 
left foot ; and they talked about the even brilliancy 
of great Orion's three belt stars. 

Long they watched in Scorpio the wondrous dou- 
ble star Antares, numbered with the dying suns, 
faithfully towed through space by its beautiful emer- 
ald green companion the little green pilot always 
ahead as if searching the depths of ether for a place 
and clime which may prolong for its mate life and 
activity. Poor little green pilot! on a fruitless er- 
rand of love; thy companion, Antares, hath passed 
the allotted three-score-and-ten, as suns go, and must 
pass on through the change which cometh in the line 
of evolution unto all. But the devotion of the little 
star was beautiful to behold. 

And they turned their attention to the brilliant 
white southern star, Sirius, even the great Dog Star, 
which sixty thousand years ago was on the eastern 
boundary of the milky way, moving westward, and is 
now upon the western border, having consumed the 
sixty thousand years in making the transit of that 
wondrous river of light ; rising in the sky with the 
sun before the hottest season of the year, thus giving 
to that period more than twenty centuries ago the 



32 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

appellation of "Dog Days." Brightest star in all 
the heavens, but not the greatest, shining unto our 
own little Terra, which is the earth, through one 
hundred and twenty-three billions of miles of space ! 

Then they spoke of Gemini, the heavenly twins, 
who bestow unto all people born within their sign a 
dual nature, but wonderful magnetic and clairvoyant 
powers; twin brothers, known unto all people as 
Castor and Pollux, believed by the ancients to have 
favorable influence over navigation. Doth not his- 
tory record that the Apostle Paul, shipwrecked and 
picked up by a ship of Alexandria whose sign was 
Castor and Pollux, was safely returned to his friends 
in Rome? Yes. 

Then again in the northern sky their interest was 
held by the Big Dipper, or Great Bear, and her cub, 
reeling and chasing each other round and round the 
North Pole, the outer stars of the bowl pointing al- 
ways to the blue star Polaris, wonderful star of hope 
unto the sailor who has lost his compass, wonderful 
guide by night to the land lubber who has lost his 
way. All honor be unto the best known star in all 
the firmament, sitting since paleozoic time upon the 
North Pole in undisputed possession, and unto this 
day hath not been required of the world to render 
proof and records unto the Magi of Copenhagen ! 

And with astral sight, beyond the curve of the 
earth, long they watched the antics and weird be- 
havior of that demon, double freak star, Algol, (El 
Ghoul, the devil,) and its black companion. Star of 
strange variability, yclept sometimes "Medusa's 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 33 

Head," yclept always the "Winking Demon," or the 
"Demon Slai," — claimed by the Hebrews to repre- 
sent Adam's mysterious first wife, Lilith; does it? 
no one knows, but the villainous behavior of this 
winking, blinking speck in space, which goes out for 
eighteen minutes at a time, and then blazes forth 
with electrical brilliancy, would bear out the sug- 
gestion. 

A diligent search for Berenice's Hair was at 
length rewarded by the locating of this wonderful 
little group of double stars and their lilac colored 
companions, in the northern pole of the Milky Way. 
Cluster of sacred memory, for within this group a 
new and brilliant star appeared just before the com- 
ing of the Christ Child, growing and growing in bril- 
liancy, and was vertically overhead at Jerusalem on 
December 25th, blazing forth on the night of the 
Nativity with remarkable splendor. No name was 
ever given to it, but it was known as the "Star of 
Bethlehem," and "Star in the East." It remained for 
a century and a half .when it began to fade, in time 
going out entirely ; and it has never reappeared. Was 
it the guide to the manger cradle, or was its coming 
at that place and time a simple coincidence? no one 
knows; these variable blazing stars are many, and 
they appear in different parts of the heavens, and 
the heavens are so replete with wonders and sur- 
prises, that any attempt at explanation of phenomena 
like this, purporting to be connected with events of 
earth, are but vain and futile. Man has accom- 
plished much, but his conceptions are feeble indeed 
amid the myriad and infinite wonders of creation. 



34 THE TRAIL OP THE LOST ELECTRIC 

Then nearer home, within our own solar system, 
they talked of Mercury and Venus, but the evidence 
of their eyes regarding these two availeth nothing, 
for Venus, star of Napoleon, keepeth herself so con- 
stantly enveloped in an impenetrable atmosphere, 
that little can be seen of her physical face. She evi- 
dently needs to wear her armor to modify the intense 
heat of the sun's rays, so near is she to his domain ; 
and he pours out upon her the first undiluted 
product of his fiery funiace. To the neighborly 
solicitude of Venus we owe much ; were not our first 
ear of wheat, and our first eggs of the honey bee 
embedded in a plastic meteor, and shot over to us 
from Venus? and have we not in the dim and shad- 
owy past, received other favors from the same 
source? Yes! All honor to Venus, the abode of the 
Seventh Race, El Zorah of the Arabs, (meaning 
Splendor of Heaven,) bestowing dimples in the 
cheeks and chins and entangling in love affairs all 
people of the earth who are born under her rule. 

Mercury — peek-a-boo star, dodging behind the sun 
from one side to the other almost before one can get 
a glimpse of him; endowing those born within his 
influence with rare intelligence and wonderful busi- 
ness qualities — though often of a tricky turn, giving 
them talent for searching into mysteries of learning 
and occult phenomena. Mercury, the only planet 
which twinkles, as he occasionally shows his face. 
Peeping oiit from behind the sun, he winks villain- 
ously at us a few times and then dodges back, secure 
in the thought that we cannot touch him, even 
though we are bigger, with a dignity of 8,000 miles 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 35 

diameter, and he of only 3,000, for when he is near- 
est to us in his perihelion, he is 47,000,000 miles dis- 
tant, so whatever may be our temper, he is safe 
enough. The occult and magnetic influence of both 
Venus and Mercury are still dominant, notwithstand- 
ing that both are at the end of their celestial three 
score-and-ten, having long since ceased their rotary 
motion, presenting always the same faces to the sun 
— "at rest," waiting, like millions of others, the com- 
ing of the forces which will shock them into life and 
action again, and come they surely will! 

Then they talked briefly of the chaotic state upon 
Uranus and Neptune, both in the throes of birth, un- 
easy in the pangs and struggles which ever attend 
this phenomena of nature; for, although older in 
years, than we, their superior size has prevented 
them from shedding their swaddling clothes and be- 
sides, the process is long in the hatching out of a 
planet. But their distance made them hard of ob- 
servation, so, for a time the two reeted their eyes. 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 37 



Chapter IV. 



STARS OF THE MIDNIGHT SKY. 
(Continued.) 

THEN their admiration centered upon the won- 
derful, picturesque, stately beauty of that giant 
vapor ball, Jupiter, and its famous red spot. 
Beautiful star of the skies, prince of planets, 
with its wonderfully colored belts with scalloped 
edges, its alkaline seas, and its eight moons; 
globe of terrific windstorms and cyclones, the like of 
which no language of Terra can describe; still in the 
hot and gaseous state the whole zone in constant 
motion, restless, rolling, pitching, seething — long 
streams of gas being torn off by the awful winds, 
only to rush back at an opportune moment toward 
their own center of gravity. The mysterious red spot 
only was permanent and still. What is the red spot? 
no one knows; many theories have been advanced; 
the mighty Jupiter is accused of being a comet 
catcher, no less than thirty comets having headed 
for his celestial territory never to be seen again by 
mortal eye. So, the red spot may be a hole in his 
dark interior where these venturesome and over- 
familiar comets have charged into him; or, as spots 
on the sun are regarded as evidence of the advancing 
age of that orb, which in all lands maketh daytime, 



38 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

SO may this red spot on the face of the stately Jupi- 
ter indicate that his days of frolic are numbered, and 
planetary condensation has begun, which in process 
of time may evolve a habitable world, and later, 
beings suited to life upon it. Or, great Jupiter may 
be a sun unto the eight planetoids which revolve 
closely around it — a wheel within a wheel of our 
solar system. 

But the vision of the two was somewhat disturbed 
by the string of Asteroids between Mars and Jupiter, 
in the track where the great law demandeth another 
heavenly hodj. What are the Asteroids? no one 
knows. They may be the pieces of a mighty world 
which has blown to pieces by internal gases; or, it 
may have met upon the highway of heaven one of the 
dead, dark derelicts with which the heavns are filled, 
the collision of the two breaking them into pieces 
without sufficient force to reduce them to cosmical 
dust and luminous gas, the necessary beginning of 
the reincarnation of stars and worlds. 

After this they searched the starry dome for Sa- 
turn, and he was not hard to locate. Puzzle and 
enigma unto Galileo with his little home-made tele- 
scope — the first the world ever had — puzzle and 
enigma unto present-day investigation, even with 
Lick, Harvard, Yerkes, Mt. Wilson, and all the rest. 
Saturn, from which the seventh day of the week of the 
planet Terra, even the earth, taketh its name. Malefic, 
austere, spiteful, cold, covetous, jealous, sordid, stub- 
born — a contemner of women and a liar, say the 
astrologers, bringing gloom and melancholy and in- 
digestion and overplus of bile unto all born under 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 39 

his rule if he happen to be plagued with evil in- 
fluences, and hath corresponding temper; but be- 
stowing a splendid antithesis in wondrous wisdom, 
balance, judgment, profound imagination and re- 
serve of words unto all who may be ushered into phy- 
sical existence when he is calm, well dignified, and 
turneth unto Terra a beaming, smiling face. 
♦ * * 

Saturn ! strange, varying influence. Working in 
perfect harmony with the mighty plan of the uni- 
verse within whose bounds and limits (if the term 
may be used), not one atom is disturbed, but the 
whole must be readjusted at its expense, according 
to the force which sent it forth. Present at the 
coming of a tiny life, (if day and hour be of his 
rule), yielding forth for weal or woe his part as 
teacher in the scheme of circumstances in this, one 
of a series of mundane school days — the conditions 
of which, for that particular soul, like every other, 
were fashioned and moulded in long forgotten cycles. 
Blessed be the people of this sign who have builded 
well in the past — God help them who have not ! and 
they marveled at the colors, size and beauty of great 
Saturn's wondrous, luminous ring — one hundred and 
sixty-eight thousand miles across, one hundred miles 
thick ; unlike anything else in the universe, so far 
as mortal eye can reach, the find of the mighty Gal- 
ileo. What is the ring? no one knows: imaginative 
eyes have determined it to be made up of millions 
upon millions of Asteroids — but no matter what its 
composition, in the amazing thinness they could dis- 
tinctly see the three colorings. 



40 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

And then the birth and evolution of stars became 
unto them a matter of deepest interest — their ages 
being written on their faces by their color; at birth 
a star is bluish white; with the march of the millions 
of centuries over its head it comes to be yellow, then 
orange, then passes through all the shades of red, 
from light rose color to black, and when it has 
reached this color, it is because the pall of death has 
settled down upon it. The changes of color come 
from the growing condensation from the nebulous 
mass of its babyhood ; and the process occupies mil- 
lions upon millions of years, if it rounds out its 
natural life without a collision. How are stars 

born? 

* • « 

The immutible law of continuation of species is 
not confined to our little world alone; oh, no! it 
extends throughout the whole universe. Time was, 
even in the beginning, when the mighty universe was 
a mass of floating gas ; but that is too far remote to 
be considered here; so we will begin sufficiently far 
down the line of time, when there were already 
plenty of evolved stars, which had previously been 
condensed out of portions of this gas — consuming, of 
course, millions upon millions of years ; and they are 
of all ages and in all stages of evolution. The stars 
which we see and millions which we do not see. be- 
cause they are dead and black, or too far away, are 
flying through limitless space in all directions, like 
feathers let loose upon a high wind, varying in speed 
as well as in size. These great hulks, both of dead 
and living suns, are often getting into one another's 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 41 

way. Terrific collisions ensue when they meet. This 
cannonading is constantly going on in the heavens. 
The shock of two such gigantic bodies coming to- 
gether from opposite directions knocks them all to 
pieces, raising their temperature thousands of de- 
grees. The whole mass unites and soon turns into 
glowing gas ; this in turn assumes the form of nebu- 
la3, star dust, cosmical dust — as you please — which 
coils up from the arrested momentum, beginning a 
whirling motion around a common center, and it is 
thenceforth, during that cycle, held to that center by 
the great law of gravitational attraction, from which 
it cannot now escape if it would. It whirls and it 
whirls through aeons of time, following a migratory 
path as well; gradually, it condenses into a globe of 
some degree of mass, weight and density — beginning 
at the center. It is held in place in the heavens by 
the gravitational attraction of the suns into whose 
country it reincarnated. The aeons roll merrily on ; 
other stars come into life, and other stars older than 
ours go down to the grave; our special star is still 
whirling upon its center, and speeding along its 
orbit. In the passing of time it may hurl off por- 
tions of its own nebulae in its speed, and these not 
getting sufficiently far away to be drawn to other 
centers, set up an independent whirling motion of 
their own around a center of their own, subject still 
to the parent star around which they now begin to 
revolve. These detached pieces become the planets to 
the solar systems to which they belong, and condensa- 
tion of their globes is far more rapid than that of the 
sun which threw them off, and which holds place in 



42 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

the center of the mass, because of their smaller size 
and consequently slighter gravitational force. This 
is the story of the birth of our own solar and plan- 
etary system, and of all the rest. Leaving our star 
now because he is too big and too slow, we will con- 
tinue with one of his family of planets, as the process 
is faster. The inconceivably slow process of con- 
densation goes on — too slow even with a small heav- 
enly body, to be grasped by a finite mind at all. But 
with the passing of the centuries the mass becomes 
smaller and more compact, withal, growing hotter 
and hotter, until a stage of maximum temperature is 
reached, when it begins to cool off. It has been in 
color an electric blue white ; at this stage it comes to 
be a pale yellow, and this goes on in the history of 
every star — excepting, of course, those who evolu- 
tion has in some way been arrested, until it reaches 
a stage sufficiently cool to become the habitat of or- 
ganic life of some kind; truly a magnificent evo- 
lution, and who shall say that this process is not 
going on upon the distant planets that are whirl- 
ing around the distant suns, as it was upon our own 
little Terra under similar conditions, when, at the 
outpouring of Omnipotence the first atomic cell be- 
gan in ocean depths of this House of ours that won- 
derful evolution of which we are at present the 
highest expression? From the atomic cell develops 
gradually by evolution, intelligent beings, suited to 
their environment. Mind, that wonderful power be- 
hind all development, achieving and creating any- 
thing of which it can conceive. 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 43 

But this is a slow process, inconceivably slow, 
consuming millions upon millions of years. From 
the *iingie cell we have evolved a wonderfully com- 
plex machinery, viz., our present physical bodies, 
(as well as mental.) and woven them around the 
Ego. And histories to come will record the genesis of 
other great epochs and leaps, as it did in primeval 
time when the outgrown shell was cast aside and 
man stood erect forevermore, in the open Eden of a 
dawning consciousness of God, receiving from the 
Great Source that undying spark of divinity — an 
immortal soul, to which the cycles had been leading 
him, and of which he will never be disinherited. And 
this step is not the last ; our finite minds may not be 
able to grasp the facts, but there are glorious things 
ahead. Our perceptions respond to beauties of 
sound and color and form and conditions of life 
entirely unnoticed in the animal limitation; and 
beyond our present consciousness, outside our pres- 
ent limit of vibrations, lie colors and harmonies and 
expressions of higher forms of life which we have not 
the slightest conception; and we never will have 
until another creation opens the door and brings us 
in tune with them. Thus shall we journey along the 
wonderful path, gathering to ourselves rich experi- 
ences as we go. 

But for the star we are considering, and its plan- 
ets : the spons still come and go, and when these heav- 
enly bodies have reached their allotted three-score- 
and-ten, they begin to show decline and to dry up. 
Water, the most necessary element to life in any 
form, being the first to depart into interstellar space 



44 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

— the molecules leaving slowly or rapidly, according 
to the attraction of the star to hold them ; but they 
will all go in time, and the whole surface become 
dried up and desert; then, when there is no more 
sea, or ocean, or river, or lake, or atmosphere, there 
can no longer be life, and then they have passed 
through all the shades of color, and are drawn back 
again into their Sun, and swallowed up by it. True 
it is, even of the heavenly bodies, that ''chickens 
come home to roost !" And now, when all its planets 
have been attracted back to the home country, the 
whole mass floats, a black ball, silent and cold, that 
cycle ended, waiting, in astral sleep, another resur- 
rection by inevitable collision, when the whole mass 
and its reincarnating Ego will be shocked into life 
again, in another part of the universe to which it 
has earned a place — to gather new experiences 
among entirely new companions, to thresh out an- 
other cycle. So, is the birth, life, and passing of a 
star ; and what is happening to one, is happening to 
all, and is happening all the time to some of them. 
Our finite minds cannot comprehend the vastness 
and magnitude upon which the universe is built. As 
the stars and worlds were originally evolved out of 
the gaseous material which formed the universe, it 
follows that they are all composed of the same chem- 
ical compounds and constituents, as has been proven 
by the wizard spectroscope. 

Not one atom of cosmical dust has ever been lost, 
nor added to the original amount — although it has 
been and is, constantly changing form. From Ed- 
ward Irving: 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 45 

"When you see the fiery rush of a meteor, and 
hear its distant crash, you may know that another 
little world has met its doom, and ceased to have 
independent existence. Whenever a star suddenly 
increases in brilliancy, and for a time gives out many 
thousands of times its former light, you may feel tol- 
erably certain that mighty suns have crashed into 
mutual destruction. The shooting star still exists as 
vapor or dust in our atmosphere; the meteor settles 
down to form a part of our Earth ; the crashing suns, 
though turned into flaming gas, unite, and begin 
once more the same endless cycle of evolution and 

devolution . There is no end, nor was there yet 

beginning." 

Our own star, the Sun, is speeding northward at 
the rate of twelve and a half miles per second, drag- 
ging its nine planets with it. Arcturus, which hangs 
under the handle of the Big Dipper, is charging to- 
ward us to the tune of two hundred miles in a sec- 
ond of time; and when they meet — 6/j^.' But we 
need not lose any sleep over it, because it will not be 
in our day, nor in our children's day — nor until our 
;arth and all the other eight planets shall long have 
ceased to support life — ceased to rotate, have dried 
up, frozen up, and been gathered back into the Sun 
from whence they came; and that Sun, which is 
already aging, the light having begun to wane and 
turn yellow, will be floating in the ether *'like a de- 
serted ship upon the ocean, its light gone out, its 
magnificance a thing of an inconceivably remote 
past!" It is estimated that Arcturus and our Sun 
will come together in fifteen millions of years from 
present date. '■'■Quien sdbef" 



46 THE TRAIL OP THE LOST ELECTRIC 

The heavens are full of dead and dying stars, and 
stars in every stage of evolution, from the babe in 
swaddling clothes to the grizzled oldest inhabitant; 
and although there never will be an end to the life of 
the universe, there will be an end to our little Terra — 
yes, for it will have its day and go to pieces together 
with the rest of the solar system and be scattered 
abroad throughout boundless space. Time was when 
it rotated in six hours, but that day has long gone 
by; and it now takes something like twenty -four 
hours to turn itself around ; and it is growing slower 
and slower all the time, although the change is im- 
perceptible to us. To Omnipotence, the mighty cre- 
ator and guiding force, a "thousand years is but as 
yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the 
night." But it will one day fall in line with Venus, 
Mercury and the Moon, of our own system, and stop 
dead still — run down, to be gathered back home with 
the rest of the planets for the night's rest — only to 
be wound up and set going again in the morning; 
under a different identity, in a different place in the 
sky, among new friends and relatives. 

When our sun was evolved by collision with an- 
other sun, and the two united to set up housekeeping 
as one, evolving the planets, their children, the con- 
stituents of our physical bodies were in it, and came 
out of it ; and they are as old as the original mass of 
rotating gas — have lived and died, lived and died 
again and again, under different conditions, and in 
different forms for countless millions of years; and 
they will again and again, and still again, ad infin- 
itum. When our Sun crashes into Arcturus or into 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 47 

somebody else, and goes to pieces, both to become 
once more a sphere of gas united into one, larger 
then before, containing the mass of both, our par- 
ticles will be scattered throughout the indescribable 
mass to evolve through the long process again, to 
make up new forms under new conditions, perfectly 
adapted to that part of the Cosmos to which they 
have been hurled. Aud we shall not care; the EGO 
goes marching on. and will never get into the 
wrong pew. So will stars continue to be born — 
single, and in twins and triplets; for we have 
not the monopoly of this phenomena either, no 
matter to what lengths our conceits may lead 
us; so, as surely as the coming of that orb, 
which in all lands maketh daytime, every shining 
speck out in ether will one day "wrap the drapery of 
his couch about him, and lie down" in the sleep of 
death, ever awaiting a resurrection. And we, tiny 
mites of a tiny world, are following the same im- 
mutible law with our precious little souls and bod- 
ies: here today, somewhere else tomorrow. Where? 
no one knows! But it will be in a safe corner of 
the Father's House. 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 49 



Chapter V. 



MARS. 

•Hanging, like a danger signal out in space. 



THEN they turned unto the red planet, Mars, 
our neighbor ; called by the Chinese, "The Red 
Planet," by the Hindoos, "The Ember," by the 
Egyptians, "The Red Horus," by the Hebrews, 
"The Burning One." and by the astrologers, "The 
Malign Planet," because, when evilly disposed he is 
author of quarrels and strife, endowing those born 
under his influence at such times with a tendency 
to steal, murder and commit other crimes ; but when 
well dignified, making his people invincible in war 
and courage, lovers of honor, soldiers, surgeons, 
physicians and chemists. 

Mars: without a hill or a mountain, without a 
sea or an ocean, smooth as a billiard ball, and almost 
waterless ! slowly dying of old age and steadily fail- 
ing atmosphere, and lack of water; enveloped in a 
cold in winter which in some of the latitudes drops 
at night to one hundred degrees below zero! 

Long they sat in silence watching the dwellers 
thereon, even the men of Mars, as they wrestled 
with their one supreme problem of existence, the 



50 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

water supply ; and the atmosphere was, on this mem- 
orable night, sufficiently steady to enable them to 
see clearly, which is not always the case. And 
the system of irrigation worked out by the won- 
derful civil engineers of that distant planet com- 
manded the admiration and awe of the two upon the 
sands of Terra, called Pacific coast. And they saw 
these men at work, digging and throwing dirt for 
more canals, to bring the water from the snow- 
capped poles when the scanty heat of summer shall 
liberate it, unto the warmer latitudes where water 
and atmosphere are almost gone — digging and toil- 
ing, a heroic band, in desperate but hopeless effort 
to save their world. 

And Martha spake, saying: 

''Wist thee, oh Stranger from the east country, 
that these canals, or the lines which we see, are 
twenty and thirty miles w ide,and a thousand and fif- 
teen hundred miles long and one is 3,450 miles long? 
Yes. But we can only see a part of it. as the west- 
ern end is around the bend of the disc. That large, 
oblong spot at the southeast is called the Eye of 
Mars. It looks like a big, open eye, with an eyebrow 
over it; and opposite, on the west side of the disc, 
you will notice a semi-curved dark body which looks 
like a closed eye. This is the Sea of the Sirens; 
but it isn't a sea at all, for there isn't a drop of 
water on Mars excepting at the poles, and that which 
is forced into the canals from the poles. The long 
curved point of this dark body, which comes over 
into the center of the disc, is called the Siren's Beak ; 
and you will notice a canal starting from the Beak 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 51 

and running northeast to a large dark spot, which is 
called Phoenix Lake — but like all other lakes of 
Mars, is not a lake. And with Phcenix Lake as a 
hub, you may see a number of canals starting from 
it, growing wider apart as they proceed away — in 
all directions, like spokes of a wheel — strung with 
dots, and ending at dots; and notice all over the 
whole disc, even extending through the dark regions, 
a perfect network of geometrical lines, crossing and 
intersecting, always at a dot, forming triangles of 
all shapes. Around the bend of the northern end of 
the Sea of Sirens, too far around for us to see, seven 
canals start from one point, proceeding apart in per- 
fect geometrical precision, all coming to dots where 
they meet other canals coming from opposite di- 
rections." 

The Stranger was awed, and spake, saying : 

''What about these dots? what are they? I am 
not at all certain that I see them." 

And Martha answered : 

^'See themf Of course you doT They are the 
irrigated centers where the people live. If you look 
closely, you can see the people moving about, just as 
you can see them working on the canals; it is easy 
enough when you once accustom your eyes to the 
long distance. These lines, thirty miles wide, which 
we see, and which are called canals, are not the 
real canals at all, but the growing crops each side 
of the canals proper; the canals are not visible be- 
cause of the vegetation and because, also, the Mar- 
tians keep them covered to prevent evaporation. 
After the crops turn yellow, and are harvested, the 



52 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

lines become very faint ; but in the spring again, with 
the melting of the polar snows, when the water is 
forced into the canals again, and down towards the 
equator, and vegetation starts, the lines again come 
into view, darken, then turn yellow when the grain is 
ripe ; and this process is repeated year after year. In 
looking from a distance to the irrigated districts on 
our earth, we can never see the ditches — only the 
growing crops near them. So it is with Mars; the 
growing crops hide the water from sight — and after 
the crops are harvested no more water is allowed in 
the canals, as it would be wasted, and water is too 
precious on the planet Mars to admit of this." 

Then spake the stranger, saying: 

''How would it be possible to find enough ma- 
terial to cover such an intricate and multiple net- 
work of canals extending all over the whole planet 
from pole to pole — each twenty and thirty miles 
wide, and a thousand and fifteen hundred miles long 
— what could they get to cover them with, and how 
could they manage it? 

Then Martha, with a dignity befitting the occa 
sion, replied : 

"Thou asketh, indeed, a foolish question, oh 
Stranger, and one which none may answer; be con- 
tent to know that so remarkable a people as these 
Martians, with a Board of Public Works, able to lay 
out and construct such a gigantic, planet-wide sys- 
tem of waterways as we now see, would never fall 
down for ways and means to cover them — that would 
be easy, after the rest!" 

But the stranger spake again, saying: 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 53 

"Do not these lines on Mars resemble the mark- 
ings on Mercury? and is Mercury also digging 
canals?" 

To which the pilot answered, saying: 

The lines on Mars most certainly do not resemble 
the lines on Mercury, save, mayhap, to very callow 
observes; look thee closely at Mercury's markings 
at earliest opportunity, and note that his lines are 
great cracks, probably caused by the rapid drying 
up ; for his home is under the very eaves of the sun, 
and he is without the protecting blanket of vapor 
which surrounds Venus. So, he must have been 
short lived, and his remains have been baking at 
white heat for millions of years. Mars is further 
away from the sun than we are, so has not even the 
heat and light that we have; besides, do we not 
plainly see evidence of life and intelligence there? 
The perfect geometrical precision with which the 
canals are cut explodes all argument about the lines 
being simply natural surface cracks, for nature's 
work is irregular, and never in perfectly straight 
lines, and then those double canals which we see — 
hundreds of miles long, running side by side, in 
straight lines — exactly the same distance apart for 
the entire length, can never be the work of nature's 
forces." 

And for a time the two lapsed into silence, broken 
by the stranger, who, persistent, spake again, say- 
ing: 

"Can it be, oh pilot, that enough frozen water 
standeth at the poles of Mars, when all else is dried 
up, that at its melting during martian summers. 



54 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

there is sufficient to fill all these gigantic conduits 
which we see streaking up the whole surface of its 
globe?" 

And the pilot again answered, saying : 

'•Verily, oh stranger from the east country, thy 
mind doth take super-inquisitive turn in this weird 
hour of the night. Thou doth ^sk what kind of 
material is used for coverlids by a board of public 
works on a distant world in space, and even now 
would'st know the measure of water in its polar 
seas I Rest thee in peace; these neighbors of ours, 
even the people of Mars, are not cutting up their 
surface into water ways without assurance of the 
wherewith to fill them!" 

And the Stranger, overcome by the wisdom of 
these words, retired into absolute, respectful silence, 
venturing no further question. 

And how busy are the men of Mars ! New canals 
are constantly appearing, sometimes two or three 
within two or three years, and of thousand-mile 
lengths. Two canals were at that time in the process 
of building, and were seen by others, as maps of 
Mars issued later showed. 

Thus they watched the men of Mars throwing 
dirt, as any one may watch them in a clear, steady 
atmosphere, which same is not obtainable in all parts 
of the world. Atmospheres are likely to vibrate so 
rapidly that they interfere with such close observa- 
tions as the correct study of what a people are 
doing on a distant world ; but given the proper con- 
ditions, and it is a vei\v simple matter. And the two, 
noting the ease and rapidity with which these neigh- 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 55 

bors of ours worked, concluded that not an over 
large force of workmen from Mars could plan and 
execute to completion a terrestrial Panama water- 
way in about five days ! These people are older and 
wiser than we — and with their more perfected tele- 
scopes they have probably been watching our little 
work at Panama — so big to us, forty-seven miles 
long — 400 years in building — with some degree of 
amusement, wondering what it is all about. And 
they saw another band of toilers, men with yellow 
complexions dressed in white, dragging and piling 
material in great heaps for the gigantic bonfires with 
which they at stated intervals have for years been 
signaling the Earth, in last wild, pathetic appeal to 
us to send them help and water and carbonic acid! 
and the two spake, one unto the other, of the great 
strides that science is making in our own little world, 
and knew that if Mars, our brother in distress, our 
nearest neighbor in space, could hold on awhile 
longer, a master mind upon this Earth will construct 
and guide an etherial bark beyond the dead line 
which keeps worlds apart, making it possible to nav- 
igate the infinity of space, and though we cannot 
save a dying world, we may carry to it a message of 
tender love and sympathy in its hour of need, and 
maybe bring its people here. One hundred years 
more of the world's progress will produce features 
and results which would stagger the imagination of 
the present day, and lay away present day achieve- 
ments in the attic. 

And they hoped the world would soon get about 
the long-talked-of plan of laying the ten million dol- 



56 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

lar mirror flat upon the plains of Texas, our signal 
unto Mars that we have seen and understood. These 
Martians are wonderful people; and there is a sad- 
ness in the thought that they are nearing their end. 
But in sympathy and pity, powerless to aid, the two 
could only sit upon the Royal Chair and watch the 
last manifestations of a life that must soon disap- 
pear; for Mars hath lived its season out and is tot- 
tering toward the grave. Then will another cycle of 
that planet be finished, and it will enter upon its sea- 
son of rest — after which cometh the resurrection, ac- 
cording to the great law. 

And again they rested their eyes, covering the 
same with their hands, for the tax upon them was 
great. Remember — 'twas across a gulf of space of 
thirty-five millions of miles they had been looking, at 
the people and the canals of the red planet Mars ! 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 57 



Chapter VI. 



TERRA. 



"A stage, where every man must play a part." 



AND resting their eyes, thought grew into 
speech, of their own little world, tiny speck 
though it is — lost in the magnificence which 
surrounds it out in space. 

Little Terra, all our own ; pride and boast of its 
own manifested life. 

Little Terra, speck of dust upon the mighty ocean 
beach of infinite space. 

Little Terra, regarded by the Ancients as the cen- 
ter of the universe, and the Mogul for whose edifica- 
tion the sun and all the stars of heaven were 
created. 

Little Terra, supposed at first to be flat — then 
round — but which isn't perfectly round, because it is 
flat at the poles, and bulges at the equator; and it 
doesn't spin straight round and round upon its axis, 
either; it wohMes! wohhles like a top that's running 
down! 

(And little Terra pulls off some queer stunts once 
in a while. It is a scientific and a physiological fact 
that the nearer people live to the equator, the 
rounder are their heads!) 



58 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

Little Terra — reeling around with one motion, 
rushing ahead with another; rushing hand in hand 
with its own solar system at a pace of eighteen miles 
in a single second of time. Rushing where? no one 
knows ! We are headed straight for the constellation 
Lyra, the Harp of Orpheus, and Lyra is speeding 
away from its present place as fast as we are ap- 
proaching her ! what of the dimensions of this space 
through which we are flying? And they gave thought 
and reverent speech unto the Omnipotence which 
guideth the whole stupendous scheme — even the mil- 
lions upon millions of suns, living and dead and in 
the throes of birth — each a center unto its own plan- 
etary system, each a spark of the Great Whole, each 
fulfilling eternal Nature's law, each held in its own 
place by the Great Law by which every particle of 
matter in the universe is pulling every other particle 
toward it — why? No one knows! The great cycles 
have not yet evolved another Kepler, Galileo, or 
NEWTON, to give unto a waiting, listening, eager 
world an answer to the question which it asks. And 
they became wonderfully silent before the incom- 
prehensible, for the finite cannot grasp the infinite; 
then they thought upon the extreme littleness and 
foolishness of that pseudo-important dweller of the 
earth — man! mighty and great in his own opinion, 
in reality, only a simple, indestructible atom of the 
stupendous Whole; but however little and however 
foolish, each serving his own purpose in the mighty 
scheme of Creation, each fulfilling his own part to 
the great Whole. Considering his beginning, his evo- 
lution, since the dawn of life upon the earth, and 



THE TRAIL OP THE LOST ELECTRIC 59 

from that time until the time when he first stood 
erect, has been astonishing ; and from that time until 
the present he has shown an evolution and achieve- 
ments which we would not hesitate to pit against 
that of the animate life of any other planet. He 
has unearthed and guaged many of the hidden forces 
and powers of the little green ball on which he lives, 
and has harnessed them, making them to do his bid- 
ding. His discoveries have not been confined to the 
earth alone ; he has stood on the shore of the mighty 
ocean of space, and looking out across its limitless 
expanse, has learned that which staggers an ordi- 
nary mind ; and he will go on and on into the bound- 
less realms of knowledge and discoveries, building, 
the while his stepping stones out, and out, and out — 
upon the apparent Nothing of empty space. And it 
matters not into whatsoever labyrinths and corridors 
he may stray, or however far, tiny mite that he is in 
the Great Cosmos, he can never be lost or over- 
looked in his Father's House of Many Mansions, for 
God, and the law of Karma, will take the kindest 
care of all. And the grandeur of the mighty scheme 
was upon them, and all fear was cast out from this 
time; and the evil efforts of the Lord of Luna were 
lost unto them from that time forever. 

Then the pilot, even Martha, spake, saying: 
"We have this night beheld countless wonders, 
but it is not meet that we tarry here longer; for, 
wist thee, that within the city at the House of En- 
tertainment, our friends do mourn, and will not be 
comforted because we came not unto them at the 
appointed hour? and in the window there burneth 



60 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

a beacon light unto our coming. Let us arise and go 
hence." 

And the Stranger listened to the wisdom of the 
pilot, and answered, saying: 

''Even so!" 

Then they departed off the box of three dimen- 
sions, kin of a royal house, host of a wonderful night, 
child of the City of the Straits in the east country, 
the land of the great lakes, the home of the Ojibways 
and the Chippewas, and of the Wolverine people; 
and the same they left upon the sands at the edge of 
the world, with fond farewells and lasting regrets, 
for those who might come after. And once more 
they took up the trail. 



THE TRAIL OP THE LOST ELECTRIC 61 



Chapter VII. 



A TEST OF PHYSICAL CALIBRE. 



"My kingdom for a horse!" 



AND they came unto the gates of a new city 
which was to be built upon the sands, but 
no building was yet. And over against the 
city that was to be, they beheld a post, and 
a board was nailed thereon ; and upon the board 
thereof it was written even in Esperanto: 

^'^HERMOSA BEACH : REDONDO TWO MILES !" 

Then for a time was all speech paralyzed; and 
they thought unkindly upon the car which had not 
come unto them, and upon the long, weary miles al- 
ready traveled by them on this memorable night; 
they were hungry and cold, and their garments were 
heavy with the penetrating mists which ever arise 
from old ocean at the season which is nigh unto the 
holy Christmas tide at the edge of the world. And 
the Stranger from the east country, beyond the big 
prairies, in the land of the great lakes, in sorrow, 
spake, saying: 

"Dost thou, oh Martha, see as I see, and read as I 
read ? My head have I not uncovered to the Lord of 



62 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

Luna, neither have I broken my circle with the 
thumb and forefinger, which is protection against his 
fell influence. Behold this finger post : doth it read, 
that the Place of Moonstones, even Redondo, whither 
we must hie this night, lieth beyond, even to the 
measure of two miles f" 

And Martha, of the House of Samson, strong, and 
of unshorn locks, sighed heavily, and answered, 
saying : 

"Even so! thou hast read aright, oh Stranger; the 
Place of Moonstones whither we go, lieth beyond, 
even to the measure of two miles ; thus saith the fin- 
ger post!" 

Then again spake the Stranger, saying : 

"We cannot journey farther; it is beyond the 
limit of human endurance; our time has indeed 
come; let us cast our treasure upon the sands and 
give up the ghost. The kind sea gulls will sing our 
requiem, and the elements will bleach our bones !" 

Then answered Martha, saying: 

"Not so, Stranger from the lake country in the 
east ; wherefore sayest thou, 'Let us cast our treasure 
upon the sands and give up the ghost?' wist thee not 
that we can only do this when we have finished our 
work? no man can tell what yet remaineth for us to 
do. When we behold the majesty of the mighty 
Cosmos, do not the petty things of our little life ap- 
pear as naught? and when we consider the wondrous 
journey of the stars above, what availeth our little 
trip? A journey seemeth to be what it is according 
to the lenses through which it is viewed. We have 
this night traveled but an infinitesimal arc of the 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 63 

circle of our infinitesimal earth. If we must com- 
plain, let us do so, verily, because we see not the 
lesson to be learned from this experience. So, let us 
go upon our way without murmur or complaint." 

And the Stranger barkened to the wisdom of the 
pilot, and answered, saying: 

''Even so !" 

And they faltered not again unto the end. And 
ever and anon, they came upon monuments of 
strange architecture, and many in a state of build- 
ing; but the same were deserted unto the night. 
And they went not nigh unto them, lest they be sur- 
prised by astral tenants; for, already had their ex- 
perience been sufficient unto the day thereof. And 
they met no living creature upon the way, neither a 
car. And their feet sank deeply into the sands of 
the seashore, which is knowTi to all men as Pacific 
coast; and they walked not upon the same when 
aweary, but betook themselves unto the ties which 
held the rails of the shadowy electric, which they 
sought, and found not ; changing back into the sandy 
path when they stumbled and fell. Thus were the 
weary miles dragged on. 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 65 



Chapter VIII. 



AHASUARUS, THE SHOEMAKER OF 
JERUSALEM. 



"When shall we three meet again?" 



THEN suddenly out of the hazy distance ahead 
a dark, moving figure appeared ; and they noted 
that its course was toward them, following a 
zigzag line; and they were filled with terror, 
but could only cling one unto the other, because no 
place of concealment was at hand. And, as the figure 
drew nearer, they beheld the same to be an old man, 
tall of stature, barefooted wearing a long, loose coat, 
which reached to his feet, held at the waist by a 
girdle ; his long white hair hung over his shoulders, 
his long white beard fell to his waist; his skin was 
the color of parchment and there was no spot of dirt 
upon his vesture. His gait was shuffling, and in his 
hand he carried a white stick. 

And when he espied the two standing out of his 
path, he forthwith directed his steps unto them ; and 
they, observing this, felt the blood within their veins 
freeze to ice ; for ghastly fear was upon them. When 
the old man stood before them, and noted their 
blanched faces, he spake unto them in their native 
tongue, but with foreign accent, saying : 



66 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

"Stand ye not before me in terror; I do no harm 
to any living creature. I am this hour on my way 
to yon city of Our Lady of the Angels, even on my 
journey round the world." 

And he paused, sighing heavily. 

Then in awed voice spake Martha, saying: 

"Indeed, thou art verily a traveler; who mightst 
thou be, and from whence comest?" 

The old man answered, saying: 

"I come from no place in particular; I am a na- 
tive of Jerusalem, by birth a Jew, by trade a shoe- 
maker, plying my craft in the early part of my first 
century upon the earth; a traveler, didst thou say? 
listen: my name is Ahasuarus!" 

He paused, searching their faces sharply with his 
eyes as he spoke the name ; but observing no sign of 
recognition he continued : 

"I am ever in quest of rest, which I may not at- 
tain, nor the sweet repose of death." 

And another heavy sigh ended the sentence, while 
he marked in the sands with the white stick which 
he held. Then spake Martha, saying : 

"Thou art indeed far from home and kin, but art 
upon a cosmopolitan shore, and must surely find 
thine own people. Wherefore canst thou find no 
rest? also, thou speakest strangely of the centuries, 
and of thine age ; and doth complain that thou find- 
eth not 'the repose of death,' which in due time 
surely cometh unto all. Men do not oft seek 
hungrily after death." 

The aged man bent his snowy head, turned to- 
ward the two, fixing his piercing black eyes full upon 
them, saying in husky tones : 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 67 

"Home? — I have none! neither kin; for two 
thousand years I have walked the earth, homeless, 
friendless and alone ; and I must go on, and on, until 
the coming of the Nazarene, who was called the 
Christ ; for He it was who commanded me." 

He paused and no one spoke, for these were 
strange words ; and the two were unable to compre- 
hend. The old man again broke the silence, saying: 

"Hast ever read in the Gospels that 'whatsoever a 
man soweth, that shall he also reap?' ay, give heed 
unto it, women, and sow wisely, for, hark ye! every 
act bringeth a result — be it good or evil ; do kind- 
ness, and kindness returneth unto you; do hurt, and 
hurt is hurled back in proportion as you gave. No 
man hath had opportunity as have I, to know the 
mighiy truth of the Great Law." 

He paused of speech, but not of feet, which same 
shuffled eternally — glancing hurriedly around like 
one pursued. He continued: 

"What is life? Is it limited to three-score-years- 
and-ten? What is a paltry three-score-years to me, 
when twenty centuries are within my living 
memory !" 

And a bitter smile flitted for a brief second across 
his face. He went on : 

"Yes. I am far, indeed, from what I called my 
home, Jerusalem, where one day I left my beloved 
wife and child, and my unwilling feet have never 
pausd for rest in all that time; I cannot stay them. 
That was the first Good Friday!" 

And another pause ensued, while the old man 
marked with his white stick in the sands, which are 
known unto all people as Pacific Coast. 



86 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

"ADd each time I attain the age of one hundred 
years, then do I return again unto the youth of that 
awful day — which same is thirty years, to live on 
again to the end of the century, without rest, with- 
out hope for the death which cometh to all others; 
going without halt from country to country, speak- 
ing always the language of the one I am in — my 
weary feet bearing me in every direction, and al- 
ways back unto Jerusalem, lest I forget! I am pow- 
erless to guide my footsteps. Know ye, oh women, 
that though I may not die. yet death followeth in 
my wake ? For when cholera reigneth upon the land, 
know ye that one year before my feet passed over the 
place !" 

And the two looked wonderingly upon him. Then 
again spake Martha, of the House of Samson, 
saying : 

"Thou doth indeed speak strange words, and tell 
strange tales; wherefore sayest thou, 'whatsoever a 
man soweth, that shall he also reap?' what didst 
thou sow? Didst do grave hurt unto thy brother?" 

The old man looked hurriedly around in all di- 
rections, then bent his white head toward the two, 
speaking in husky whisper: 

"J struck Him, the Nazarene! I was a leader 
among those who demanded His removal. I believed 
Him to be a deceiver of the people, a Sabbath 
breaker, and gulity of treason unto Caesar; and had 
done my best with others to bring Him to justice, 
and have Him put out of the way. I was with the 
soldiers when the crown of thorns was plaited and 
set upon His head. I leaped forward and pressed it 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRCI 69 

heavily down — with all my strength, and laughed to 
see the blood trickle from the wounds. He turned a 
full look upon me, but spake no word. I followed on 
into the judgment hall of Pilate, when He was 
brought in for trial. I cried loudly with the mob 
unto Pilate to release to us Barabbas, and crucify 
this Nazarene, and when it was over, and sentence 
had been passed upon Him, and they were leading 
Him out of the hall, I struck Him with the back of 
my hand. Again He turned His eyes full upon me, 
but spake no word. I knew He would be dragged 
past my house on His way to Calvary Hill, so I ran 
home to summon my household to witness the event ; 
and standing on my doorstep I lifted my child in my 
arms, holding him high above the heads of the people 
who followed, that the little fellow might see the 
Nazarene. He bore upon His back the heavy cross 
upon which He must suffer death. When opposite 
my door He stumbled under its weight and fell. I 
taunted Him, bidding Him with loud voice, heard 
above the jeering of the crowd, to get up, keep His 
feet, and go on faster. Once more He turned full 
upon me the same look which I had seen twice be- 
fore, this time saying in clear, calm, low voice: '/ 
will go faster, but thou wilt tarry upon the earth 
until I come again!' That was my sowing, and the 
harvest has endured for two thousand years — two 
thousand years! I was stricken at His words with 
restlessness of feet, and setting my child down upon 
the doorstep of my house, I followed on helplessly 
with the crowd to the place on Calvary Hill where 
the cross was planted. My feet would not turn else- 



70 THE TRAIL OP THE LOST ELECTRIC 

where. I was an eye witness to the crucifixion — I 
saw the whole awful tragedy, and had no power to 
turn my eyes away. I was held to the spot through 
the terrific thunder storms and quakings of the earth 
which followed, and heard the wail of horror and 
consternation and despair which w^ent up when the 
veil of the temple, which required seventy men to 
operate, split from top to bottom like a cobweb. I 
saw the soldiers cast lots for His vesture, and saw 
the body lowered down from the cross and borne 
away by Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus, who 
brought spices, myrrh and aloes, and a winding sheet. 
I saw them wrap Him, and finally lay Him in the 
sepulcher; and when my horror was full, it came 
upon me suddenly that I could no more return to 
Jerusalem, but must go forth to foreign lands, 
thenceforth, forever, a pilgrim and a wanderer, and 
so, my unwilling feet took me away; 1 never saw 
wife or child again, nor heard I news of them. Then 
it came to my ears that this Nazarene had broken the 
bonds of death, and walked again among His people 
on the shores of the Lake of Galilee ; I tried, but all 
in vain, to turn my steps that way that I might seek 
Him and beg surcease from the curse which was al- 
ready so heavy upon me, but my feet hurried me in 
an opposite direction. I was weary with the burden 
of my first one hundred years of life, when I came 
again unto Jerusalem, only to find it in ruins; not 
one stone left standing on another — all thrown down. 
I could not recognize former localities, and no man 
lived who had ever heard of my beloved wife, or of 
my boy. Others could die under such heavy affliction 
— but death is not for me — not for me !" 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 71 

And for a time he paced to and fro before them 
with bowed head ; then spake he further : 

''I have sought death in every form. I have 
thrown myself from high cliffs; I have many times 
hnrled myself from Mt. Carmel into the sea, but al- 
ways Cometh a rescuing hand to save. I was in Rome 
when Nero set it on fire ; I tried to burn in the flames, 
but not a hair of my head was singed. I was in Paris 
during the massacre of St. Bartholomew, and when 
the signal was given to kill all Huguenots, I dis- 
guised as one of that people, entering the thickest of 
the slaughter; but though men fell all around, I 
stood unscathed and unharmed. I have walked 
through the jungles of India and Africa, and the 
wild animals and reptiles turn from my presence and 
slink away ! I have drunk to the dregs cup upon cup 
of the deadliest poison, but it is ever a tonic and an 
invigorator. I have refused to partake of food for 
unlimited time, but nothing avails — nothing! / can- 
not die!" 

Then the Stranger from the east country, shaking 
with terror, and with blanched face, upon which rev- 
elation had unmistakably dawned, spake unto the 
old man, saying : 

"Arf thou he of whom St. John gives mention in 
his Gospel — he whom the centuries have called 'the 
Wandering JewT " 

And the old man answered, saying: 

'Thou hast said it, / am he!'' 

Then, indeed, did the Stranger from the east 
country hang heavily upon the arm of Martha, even 
the pilot, and Martha, faint and dizzy at the old 



72 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

man's revelation, bore the weight unsteadily. After 
many minutes of silence, spake Martha, saying: 

** We have indeed heard of thee, oh wanderer ; thy 
life story is known about every hearthstone, and unto 
all people. We know not what words of consolation 
we may speak unto thee; but thou knowest that one 
day thou wilt be released." 

''Released? Yes, at His coming; and hark ye! / 
am al)out to end my journeying s.'' 

He came nearer unto the two, holding up a fore- 
finger, and with the same beating time unto his 
words, speaking in low voice and with moderation : 

"All prophecies which are written are fast being 
fulfilled; the signs have been my earnest study for 
centuries. When the fig tree putteth forth its leaves 
we know that the summer is nigh. All signs now 
point to the rising of another Star in the East, and 
for the event no man waiteth so eagerly as do I." 

And for a brief space of time all was dead silence. 
Then spake the Stranger from the east country, 
saying : 

"Though hast, indeed, had full measure of life, 
and seen all lands, and witnessed wondrous events in 
thy travels." 

"Aye. I have seen all the important events, and 
the changes of two thousand years in the govern- 
ments and customs of many countries ; but since my 
life was extended I have no pleasure in them. I seek 
only for death ; I long only for the one event which 
will stay my wanderings, and set me free — the com- 
ing of the Man of Nazareth." 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 73 

Then silence fell heavily upon them, and the two 
marveled much at this strange meeting upon the 
sands at the edge of the world. But the aged Jew 
had not stayed his pace for even a brief moment — 
pacing, ever pacing. At this moment he seemed un- 
able to remain longer, and with hair and garments 
fluttering as if blown about by a heavy wind, he sud- 
denly gathered his coat around him to depart. Turn- 
ing hurriedly unto the two, who quaked before his 
presence, with rapid speech he said unto them : 

"I have told you that always with the culmi- 
nating of one hundred years I renew my age; in this 
process my old skin sloughs off, and a new one, with- 
out wrinkle or furrow, and with smoothness and 
beauty of young manhood taketh its place. On the 
morrow, once again, one hundred years is done. I 
shall abide for the time within the gates o* von City 
of the Angels, where, perchance, ye may. care to 
follow, to witness so strange an event. On such oc- 
casions I remain two days in the place where it oc- 
.curs; ye will find me at " 

But the restless, traveled feet were fast carrying 
the old man down Angel City way, and his voice be- 
came faint and fainter, passing soon beyond the 
range of human ear. And the two, with horror upon 
their faces, stared after the vanishing form until it 
faded into the uncertain haze of the distance, and 
was gone forever from their sight. Then in hushed 
voice spake the Stranger, saying : 

''What is this, oh Martha, which hath appeared 
unto us and vanished again with this lonely hour, 
and in this unhallowed spot? May it be a troll, or, 



74 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

perchance, do thee and me grow queer with much 
fatigue, and have strange fancies?" 

But the pilot spake no word. The Stranger con- 
tinued : 

"Hath this old man, mayhap, slept in the open, 
with uncovered head, beneath the glare of yon full 
moon, becoming a victim of that wicked orb?" 

But Martha spake no word, neither moved. 

^'Or," — and the Stranger's voice sank into a whis- 
per, scarce audible, — "is it as he hath said : have we 
been face to face upon these sands with that strange 
life of two thousand years — that actual being whom 
tradition claims doth wander still upon the earth, 
obeying, without power to halt, the Lord's command : 
'Tarry thou, until I come?' a man two thousand 
years old — an eye witness to the crucifixion and the 
horrors that followed? speak, oh Martha!" 

But Martha spake not. Then the Stranger laying 
a hand lightly upon the arm of the pilot, at which 
the pilot started as from a dream, spake further, 
saying : 

"Art turned into a statue? Answer, oh Martha, 
dweller in this coast country of the Golden Gate, 
wherein such wonders do befall ; what of this, which 
thou hast shown me even within thy land, whilst I am 
far from home?" 

And Martha, dazed, perplexed, awed — at last 
found voice to say : 

"Ask me not, oh Stranger from the east country. 
I have no ken of this which we have seen and heard 
within my land. If we indeed be queer with much 
fatigue, 'twere passing strange that both be queer 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 75 

alike, and so behold like vision. Let us put the same 
behind us. thinking on other things. Verily, let us 
quickly forget it! My brain doth whirl, and goose- 
flesh standeth thick upon my body; let us hasten 
hence with fleetness of foot, lest this strange wand- 
erer, even Ahasuarus, retrace his steps, and mayhap, 
shed his horrid skin before our very eyes!" 

And the Stranger from the east country answer- 
ed, saying: 

"Even so! But the world will agree with thee 
and me, that this affair doth present a bigger riddle 
than thine ancestor, Samson, ever put unto the 
Philistines !" 

And they quickened their steps in the slippery 
sands, and pressed rapidly forward ; withal, glancing 
oft behind them. And the Stranger, turning erst- 
while, beheld Martha, even the pilot, and saw that 
her hair was snow white! 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 77 



Chapter IX. 



THE SONG OF THE MOKNING STARS. 



"And so, thro' glories veiled and fair, behold 
The Choral Stars that sang so loud and sweet 

On the first morning when creation sprang 
In dewy beauty from Jehovah's hand." 



AND Aurora, goddess of the morning, prepared 
to open the gates of day unto the world. And 
the two, beholding the first streak of gray 
dawn breaking upon the eastern horizon, 
were filled with joy. And they halted in their jour- 
ney to watch the gathering of the rays of light which 
in all lands maketh daytime, and over the vast ex- 
panse of sand the sight was one of beauty, and 
grandeur, and majesty. And the silence round about 
them was deep, and the noise of their footfalls upon 
the sands was hushed; for they moved not, neither 
was there any sound round about, save the soft, 
rythmic plashing of the waves upon the shore. 

But suddenly there broke upon the ear a prelude 
of wondrous harmony, coming from the upper air; 
floating like a cloud of incense and echoing over the 
lofty dome. And they, barkening unto it, looked 
above for angel forms and beheld them not. Then 
were they greatly amazed ; for the music, entrancing 



78 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

— wonderful, filled all the heavens, seeming to come 
out of and bjond the twinkling stars — the sparkling 
fragrance of the young morning air pulsing with 
waves of harmony, sweeter far than voices, or 
stringed instruments, or ajolian harps of earth could 
ever produce ; chords and symphonies that held them 
motionless ; measure upon measure of wondrous mel- 
ody — now soft and low, and far, far away, now loud 
and full and near, rising and falling in majestic 
cadence, causing the whole heavens to vibrate. And 
they were thrilled and awed, and spake no word one 
unto the other lest the music cease; and the tones 
from Jupiter and Saturn were bass; from Mars, 
tenor — the same being like unto the swan's which 
singeth sweetest in its hour of death; from Earth 
and Venus came wonderful, rich contralto; from 
Mercury, purest soprano ; while the wan, pale Moon, 
now fading and sinking into the waters of the west- 
ern horizon, laid aside all malignity, and beaming 
with love unspeakable, lifted up its voice, now in 
soprano, now in tenor, varying — changing, flitting, 
true to its own shifting character, but sweet and low, 
far, far away! — Uranus, Neptune, Sirius, Procyon, 
Castor and Pollux, Aldebaran, Bellatrix, the lovely 
Pleiades, the Hyades, the mystic Algol, and all the 
others, led and inspired by the entrancing Harp of 
Lyra made an orchestra, not of Earth, but of 
Heaven, in grandest oratorio unto the dawn of day ! 
And the harmony was unto their ears for the space 
of many minutes, even to the length of a half hour ; 
and when it at last died away, up, and up, and up — 
beyond the fading stars, then did the two stand with 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 79 

straining ears to catch the last departing waves as 
they floated softly up and beyond the range of 
human ear. And when all was silence, save for the 
soft, rythmic plashing of the waves upon the shore, 
yet they waited — breathless, motionless, speechless — 
lost in rapture and wonder, for they knew they had 
listed to the Harmony of the Spheres, which the 
sparkling heavens are always pouring forth, but 
which hath been supposed to be reserved for the ears 
of the gods. Old thought! our dull perceptions do 
not respond to the higher vibrations, and few there 
be who answer to the call ; but the Music of the 
Universe is ever audible in the silent watches of the 
early morn, to them who will attune themselves to 
hear. Hath not the Bard of Avon sung: 

"There's not the smallest orb which thou behold'st 
But in his motion like an angel sings?" 

The heavenly bodies are whirling in all direc- 
tions, like "dancers in an airy hall." Their motions, 
beating the ether, give out sounds, varying accord- 
ing to diversity of their magnitude and distances — 
variations of speed producing variations of sound all 
up and down the chromatic scale of harmony; and 
they had heard it — so may you! 

The breathless silence which followed was 
crowded full of busy thought. They had beheld the 
glorious Color Harmony of the stars of night — white, 
blue, azure, yellow, creamy white, red, ruddy, rose 
colored, lilac, topaz, purple, orange, black — and as 
these were fading before the gathering rays of 
roseate morn, they had barkened to the Choral Har- 



80 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

mony of the beauteous worlds as well. And the 
wonder of it all was upon them ; and as the last faint 
echo died away, with one accord they exclaimed : 

''Great and mighty Omnipotence, 'let all nations 
bow before Thee, and declare Thy wondrous 
works !' " 

And after a time the Pilot, even Martha, spake, 
saying: 

"Wonders, indeed, fall at our feet upon this jour- 
ney, which in the beginning opened unto physical 
sight such looming proportions; little do we wist 
what may hang upon a little change — however 
slight; so the events of this night have brought us 
into close accord with the Infinite; revealing the 
majesty and glory of the Omnipotent. Had we not 
been handed back our slips of cardboard, even the 
same which are written over with symbols and 
hieroglyphics, and been lifted into the sands by 
the side of the mighty deep, at the edge of the world, 
to wait twenty minutes that our own might come to 
us, we had now been sleeping peacefully in an upper 
chamber at the House of Entertainment. Surely, 
the events of this night are our own, and we will 
treasure up the memory of them forever and for- 
ever, and it will never depart from us." 

And the Stranger answered, saying: 

"Even so! how can it?" 

And again spake Martha, saying: 

"Yes! how can itf" 

And for a time silence was deep upon them. Then 
spake Martha, saying: 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 81 

"We must not tarry longer, for lo ! the dawn hath 
growTi into day; behold again the eastern sky, and 
see the risen sun ! that orb which in all lands maketh 
daytime. Let us hasten hence. But stay a moment, 
oh Stranger from the east country ; knowest thou of 
what this same Sun is composed? 

And the Stranger wonderingly answered : 

"Is it not a ball of fire?" 

And Martha continued : 

"Hot enough to be called a ball of fire, surely; 
and in tine, it really is a ball of fire ; for the metallic 
and non-metal lie elements of which it is composed 
are all reduced to liquid and vapor and gas, by its 
intense heat. And the most abundant of these are 
hydrogen, calcium, iron, manganese, nickel and 
titanium." 

The Stranger stared sunward and gasped : 

"Oh !" 

The Pilot continued : 

"And there is also barium, carbon, chonium, co- 
balt, germanium, helium, magnesia, platinum, sili- 
con, silver, sodium and zinc." 

The Stranger again gasped : 

"Oh!" 

"And," continued Martha, "we are told that there 
is strong evidence of the presence of aluminum, cad- 
mium, copper, lead, molybedenum, oxygen, palla- 
dium, uranium and vanadium." 

"Oh ! !" 

Martha went on : 

"Besides these, there is indication of the exist- 
ence of substances as yet entirely unknown on 



82 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

Earth; but there are no signs of chlorine, nitrogen, 
gold, mercury, phosphorus, sulphur, and some other 
elements." 

The Stranger, well nigh speechless at these awful 
revelations, glanced again Sunward, and gasped in 
unsteady voice : 

*<0h! ! ! " 

And then they went upon their way. After a time 
when they were come unto the Place of Moonstones, 
which is Redondo, they went into the room which is 
unto all people the waiting room; and there they 
tarried longer; and the car came not. But they 
cleaved unto their treasure, and rejoiced that they 
had not laid it down upon the sands. And, too, they 
had seen the tide come in ! 

• • * 

Night, in the coast country of the Golden Gate, 
nigh unto the holy Christmas tide and unto the last 
stair that steps oflf into the mighty deep at the edge 
of the world, verily meaneth heavy mists, penetrating 
cold, shivering dampness, which doth drench the 
raiment — all of which bringeth an appetite like unto 
that of a sea wolf ; and the two felt all these claims ; 
but sat within the room, which is unto all people the 
waiting room, and they went not unto the place of 
sandwiches and coffee, lest a car might pass that 
way. 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 83 



Chapter X. 



KARMA, THE LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECT. 



'I didn't say anything, did you?" 



AND waiting, the Stranger murmured, and 
spake, saying : 
"Sleep is upon us, we are hungry, weary 
and cold; we are crusted over with salt 
from this mighty Pacific, and along our route have 
we wrung the brine from our vesture; our shoes are 
packed with sand, our feet are blistered; our 
drenched, disarranged apparel and woeful disorder 
of toilet verily giveth unto us the appearance of 
tramps; the people who pass regard us with bold, 
undisguised curiosity, and amusement is upon their 
faces ; we are far from the House of Entertainment 
within the City of the Angels, no car is in sight, 
albeit day is abroad in the land; sandwiches and 
coffee abide just beyond our reach, and the aroma 
floateth heavily upon the air, yet we may not go nigh 
unto the same lest we lose our will o' the wisp. 
Would that we might in this hour behold that trolley 
man, even he who lifted us into the sands of this 
mighty Pacific to wait twenty minutes, that we 
might smite him upon his cheek." 



84 THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 

Then spake Martha, saying : 

"Concern not thyself with the trolley man, 
neither let thy heart be troubled about many things ; 
for the events which befall thee and me, come to us 
because we, and none else, have provided the condi- 
tions. Did we not, at the House of Entertainment, 
even in the hour of our departure, say unto all peo- 
ple: "We go forth this day and hour unto the 
Church of the Angels to worship and to pray?" and 
did we not, forsooth, turn into the broad and pleas- 
ant pathway which leadeth unto the water, yes? and 
the trolley man, even the false prophet, is likewise 
the dispensor of his own glory or gloom. Wist thee 
not, oh Stranger, that he hath this night handed 
unto Karma a large order?" 

And the Stranger, much comforted, answered, 
saying : 

"Even so, praise the Lord!" 



But changes come in all conditions, no matter 
how great the desire to hasten or to retard. Change 
— constant change, is the law. Everything moves in 
cycles: "Night falls upon the lake and the forest," 
but anon, day again breaketh in the east; the sea- 
sons come and go, the lilies bloom and die — and the 
snows of winter are white upon the land ; but always 
cometh the resurrection in the springtime. So, unto 
the two, at last came blessed deliverance. But the 
mystery of the lost electric remaineth a mystery still, 
and the same shall be unto all time : The ways of the 
trolley man are past finding out ! 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 85 

And a welcome rumble of wheels fell upon their 
ears, and thus the scene shifted. And when the car 
was nigh unto them, they ascended up into the same, 
and in comfortable seats, they knew that their trou- 
bles were fast nearing an end ; and they sped away, 
and away, and away — toward the City of the Angels, 
toward the House of Entertainment — toward, most 
of all, sweet rest! and the man who took the toll 
came and stood before them ; and they gave unto him 
their pieces of cardboard, even the same which were 
written over with symbols and hieroglyphics, and 
with a circle, which deciphered, meaneth ''round 
trip," and the same he quietly handed back to them, 
saying : 

"Not good on this line, which same is the Pacific 
Electric; these cardboards belong to the Angel City 
people, both being unto the City of the Angels, and 
running side by side for some distance down the line. 
You can pay 35 cents each and remain on this car, 
or get off here and wait twenty min " 

He never finished the sentence; for never were 
handsful of silver passed out to trolley man so eag- 
erly. And then the two looked curiously at one an- 
other and smiled, but spake no word at that time, 
meditating, erstwhile, upon the fallacy of human 
assurance. 

And when they were come unto the City and drew 
nigh unto the House of Entertainment, their friends 
of the night watch, beholding them from afar, ran to 
meet them, falling upon their necks. 

And when they entered into the house they gave 
unto them dry raiment, and set before them some 



m THE TRAIL OF TAE LOST ELECTRIC 

slices of fatted calf ; and all did eat, drink and make 
merry, for the lost were found. 

And the time since they were lifted into the 
sands out of the trolley car unto the homecoming 
was not twenty minutes, but eleven hours! 

And they ascended into an upper chamber to 
rest ; and deep sleep fell upon them — for past was the 
night and its trials. 

And when they had rested, even upon the follow- 
ing day, they departed in haste from the City, shak- 
ing from their feet the dust thereof. And they came 
again unto the house of Martha, which was amid the 
sweet scented orange groves, under the shadow of 
the mountain fastnesses, and in the calm, fair quiet 
of the evening, as they sat at tea by the cozy ingle- 
side, they spake one unto the other, saying: 

"Truly, restful, and peaceful and sweet is the 
shadow of the mountains, and protecting shade of 
the orange groves ; let them who will, journey forth 
unto the city and the beaches. We have gathered 
rich experience, and will be content to rest hence- 
forth upon the memory of the same. Let us speak 
with caution of our late adventures within the gates 
of the City of Our Lady of the Angels, lest our neigh- 
bors believe our minds do wander and perform gym- 
nastics." 

And so it came to pass at that time that no one 
knew what had befallen the two upon the sands of 
that mighty water called Pacific; and safe within 
the little bungalow, in the silence of the nights which 
followed, many times did they imagine that they 
heard the sound of the ceaseless lapping — lapping of 
the waves upon the shore, but they heeded not the 
call. 



THE TRAIL OF THE LOST ELECTRIC 87 

L'ENVOY. 



And when the Stranger was come again unto her 
own country in the east, beyond the big prairies in 
the land of the great lakes, much people said unto 
her: 

"Wherefore of the tides and horrid things which 
come up out of the waters and abide upon the shores 
of the wonderful coast country of the Golden Gate at 
the edge of the world ?" 

And the same things answered she them which 
are written in this book; and the same are added 
unto the tales brought yearly by travelers out from 
the coast country of the Golden Gate unto the east, 
concerning the tides of the great ocean. 
« * « 

And it came to pass that the two who went this 
way, even the pilot who had been there before, and 
the Stranger from the Wolverine country, send forth 
unto all nations of the globe, even to all the islands 
of the sea, and to all corners from whence come 
people to that wonderful coast country, at the edge 
of the world, this message: 

"Accept with caution any prophecy which pro- 
ceedeth out of the mouth of a trolley man of the 
Golden Gate country, who, with soft speech may lift 
thee out of his car upon the sands to wait for an 
electric ; for, be it known unto all people, that out of 
the mouth thereof may come delusion; and their 
error remaineth with themselves, who, hearing these 
words, heed them not," So be it forever and forever. 

Peace be unto you. 



THUS ENDETH THE ACCOUNT OF THE 
SEARCH FOR THE LOST ELECTRIC. 
WRITTEN DOWN BY THE STRANGER 
FROM THE EAST COUNTRY, BEYOND THE 
BIG PRAIRIES IN THE LAND OF THE GREAT 
LAKES, THE HOME OF THE OJIBWAYS AND 
THE CHIPPEWAS, AND OF THE WOLVERINE 
PEOPLE ; SET UP IN TYPE AND PRINTED BY 
THE ALLEN PUBLISHING CO. IN THE CITY 
OF JACKSON, AND STATE OF MICHIGAN IN 
THE MONTH OF JANUARY AND YEAR ONE 
THOUSAND. NINE HUNDRED AND FOUR- 
TEEN. THE SAME BEING AN ACCOUNT OF 
AN ADVENTURE OF THE TWO WHO CAME 
OUT OF THE SWEET SCENTED ORANGE 
GROVES UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE 
MOUNTAIN FASTNESSES OF THE COAST 
COUNTRY OF THE GOLDEN GATE, IN THE 
TIME OF THE FESTIVAL OF ROSES, WHICH 
IS NIGH UNTO THE HOLY CHRISTMAS TIDE, 
GOING ANGEL CITY AVAY TO SEE THE GREAT 
CARAVANS; WHICH SAME OCCURRED IN 
THE LORD'S GOOD YEAR, ONE THOUSAND 
NINE HUNDRED AND EIGHT. 



